Rural pressure group condemns park plan

A PRESSURE group has condemned Kent Science Park's controversial plans to build thousands of homes in the Sittingbourne countryside as wanton destruction of the rural environment.

The Campaign to Protect Rural England echoes sentiments aired by a growing number of opponents of the proposals.

Public consultation on the park's expansion, a new link road between the A2 and M2, and 5,000 new homes, ends at midnight on Sunday.

Hundreds have visited an exhibition of the plans, which include huge areas of housing that would engulf Bapchild and much of south-east Sittingbourne.

The vast majority are planned for farmers' fields, but the campaign group argues there are a number of brownfield sites in Swale which should be considered for development first.

A spokesman said: "We consider that the loss of land of high agricultural and landscape value would involve an entirely avoidable adverse environmental impact."

Five Parishes Opposition Group chairman Andy Hudson said the housing element had aroused the greatest opposition.

He added: "People just don't want them there. I have been contacted by people from all over Sittingboume who are appalled. They have been to the exhibition and when they get back home they, are so annoyed at what they've seen they ring me and ask how they can stop this."

A Science Park official said it had been good to engage with members of the public and claimed visitors to the exhibition had generally under-stood why the housing was necessary — essentially to pay for the link road.

Beverley Willis, a Bredgar parish councillor, said it was ironic that hundreds of acres of fields would be lost, simply to make the science park an economic success.

The Five Parishes Opposition Group was set up in 2004 to fight the proposals on behalf of residents of Bapchild, Bredgar, Milstead, Tunstall and Rodmersham.

Mr Hudson urged more people to follow suit and warned against complacency. He added: "One of the bits of feedback we have had since the East Kent Gazette printed the map of the plans two weeks ago was `oh my Cod, it's real.'

"This is a very real proposition. There's no room for complacency. The decisions made now will affect things in 10 to 20 years time. If people are only protesting at the last stage, it will already be a done deal. Now's your chance to do something. Otherwise people will be arguing about street names."

The plans are being exhibited at the Woodstock Club opposite the science park in Broad Oak Road until Friday.

Have your say on the proposals by visiting the website www.kentscienceparlcco.ukthefuture or call 411555 for more information.

This article and photographs are used with the kind permission of The Gazette & Times